
Originally Posted by
Assiduosity
Dear All
Apologies, but in error I neglected to post today's review here earlier. On the stroke of midnight...
Chanel Le Exclusifs de Chanel Coromandel
An old town music store in midwinter, promised presents massed within.
I am eight, perhaps nine, and on an indeterminate Saturday in the interminably long weeks of a child's wait for Christmas, I am taken to the city's specialist supplier of stringed instruments.
After an apparently epic journey, through a day damp but not cold enough for snow, in a car with windows misted by hot breath and my mother's rose perfume; we have arrived and straight away find a parking space right opposite.
Swabbing condensation with my sleeve from the glass pane on the passenger's side I perceive the name: Polge & Co. And the words that ring excitement out of my slight still-young spine: volins, violas, cellos, double bass.
The door rings open with a high melodious chime. I am in rhapsody. Rails and rails of naked unstrung maple and spruce bodies await my passionate gaze..
My momentary open-mouthed awe is disturbed. The owner (sharp featured despite his age, grey hair down to the shoulders and a black polo neck up to his chin) raises a mug emblazoned with an engraving of Beethoven I recognise from text books. 'Welcome' he half sings half shrugs and we catch a draft of the medical citrus and honey of the hot cold remedy he is sipping.
The doors to this other sense now opened a swathe scent descends on me. Everywhere the smell of wood, the spice of bright varnish and most of all the resinous sweetness of treatments for bows: blocks of near transparent rosin lined up in rows grace a glass cabinet between me and the ultimate objects of my desire. These semi-precious pre-stones glow in the soft tungsten light.
A hand upon my shoulder. The shopkeeper is knelt by my side. 'And what are we looking for today Sir?' I hear the smile in his voice and breathing in partake his prickly patchouli perfume.
'He wants a fiddle' my mother laughs, gently mocking my absent grandfather. And the next minutes, maybe ten, maybe twenty, forty an hour even, pass by as if a single moment. A symphony of sincere salesmanship and the faltering first steps of an eager nascent connoisseur.
The deal is done before the negotiations have even begun. I turn around with a flourish the instrument first held aloft then tight to my chest.
My mother is at the counter, sipping coffee with the co-owner who has emerged youthful, handsome and deshevelled in a cloud of incense smoke from the secrets of the backroom beyond.
He calls me over, winking above my head at his long haired lover. He hands me a mug, this one has Mozart on and is filled with milk and honey. He smiles and reveals from behind his back a conjurer's clenched fist. He unravels it to reveal a white chocolate mouse and raises his eyebrows in silent invitation. A look up and my mother nods happy consent.
I taste the vanilla creaminess in the air before the morsel arrives in my mouth. Then another fist appears, unveils a second sweet rodent and deposits it with aplomb and a plop into my drink. I wait for it to sink and melt before I take a swig.
And as I sit and drink, first warm musky felt, then fuchsia tissue and finally brown paper wrap my new musical joy. A freshly minted case must wait for another winter.
Drawing up ready for our departure I inflate my lungs and fill them with the last breaths of owners' and store's aromas'.
The door opens with the same tuneful peel. My brown paper package in hand I ache anxiously for Christmas morning so that I may open my prize and play this scented song again.
***
Chanel's Coromandel is as melodious and soft as sweet music.
A swift and citrus allegro opening of orange and neroli quickly negotiates into a second movement mostly played andante.
Here sweeping string section notes of vanilla, benzoin and incense are prevented from becoming sickly by brief interludes of a pizzicato patchouli, an accord that will eventually form part of a honeyed harmony.
And whilst in dry down this smells more of white hot chocolate than anything else, the quality of the ingredients, a strong backbone of hardwood and the skill of the their blending ensures that this is more refined music emporium than corner shop or candy store.
Unisex? Undoubtedly. Wearable? Absolutely. Sparingly. On high days and holidays to make up for a warmth that the weather lacks.
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Thank you gnosis.
I'd be really interested in your experience with Habinita EdP. The really friendly guy in the store where I bought it said it was very animalic on him, but I didn't get any of this - do you? I can imagine it would be a very exciting experience if you did.
I loved - as you can see from the reviews - all three. I may go back to Sycomore as it faded quickly on my skin and I had some slight reservations perhaps they related to price vs longevity but Portrait of a Lady (if you like, I mean really like, roses) is beautiful and l'heure bleue, well it's a masterpiece.
Happy hunting.
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Thanks for joining in cello - you're very welcome to the crew - and thanks for following and voting!
Have a great smelling day.
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A sudden run on No 19 and Balmain de Balmain, which will it be?
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It's a little after midnight. London. The lines are closed.
Today, 20th December 2012, I will be wearing:
Chanel Chanel N°19
What will I wear tomorrow? Choose from the following 10...
CoSTUME NATIONAL Scent Intense
Dolce&Gabbana D&G Light Blue
Prada Prada (Amber)
Estée Lauder Azuree Pure
Estée Lauder Cinnabar
Cartier Must de Cartier
Pierre Balmain Balmain de Balmain
Dior Midnight Poison
Lalique Lalique Le Parfum
Or the newcomer...
Thierry Mugler Alien
Remember all previous votes count towards a fragrance's running total and every participant gets a new vote every day!
You have just under twenty four hours... starting now.
Today's review of
Calvin Klein Obsession
will follow in about 12 hours...